Spreading the wealth spreads the talent, too: baseball's financial playing field probably won't ever be level, but the sport is making progress

Ken Rosenthal

Yankees this, Yankees that--enough already. Major League Baseball's revenue-sharing plan is working, with several have-nots demonstrating greater spending power than in the past.

No one would suggest that the playing field is level; it never has been in baseball and probably never will be. But at least MLB is showing progress in ways it hasn't before.

Progress after only two years of a four-year labor agreement that redistributes money from the rich teams to the poor in unprecedented amounts.

Progress that suggests even greater possibilities if MLB expands its current program and doesn't go all NHL on us when the agreement expires after the 2006 season.

Just the facts ...

* The Marlins beat out the Mets for free-agent first baseman Carlos Delgado, signing him to a four-year, $52 million contract.

* The Reds signed free-agent lefthander Eric Milton to a three-year, $25.5 million contract when the Yankees wouldn't give Milton more than $21 million.

* The Brewers signed free-agent catcher Damian Miller to a three-year, $8.5 million contract and traded for left fielder Carlos Lee, who will make $8 million this season.

* The Twins accomplished their chief priority by re-signing ace righthander Brad Radke to a two-year, $18 million contract.

I read off that list in a telephone conversation with commissioner Bud Selig last week, and I could almost see him nodding from Milwaukee.

"Four to five years ago," Selig said, "those kinds of signings could not have taken place."

Pirates owner Kevin McClatchy and Orioles owner Peter Angelos lament the overall increase in spending, but it's not just the high-revenue teams that are splurging. McClatchy's problem is that he lacks the cash flow to take his own risks.

No doubt, the system remains flawed when low-revenue teams such as the Pirates and Royals operate without hope. The A's trades involving pitchers Tim Hudson and Mark Mulder offer further discouragement--though the A's did sign third baseman Eric Chavez to a six-year, $66 million deal last year.

No, Oakland can't keep everyone, but guess what? NFL teams, playing in salary cap nirvana, don't keep everyone, either. Baseball's low-revenue franchises face obvious disadvantages, but that doesn't preclude them from being resourceful. The Marlins, A's and Devil Rays are on the verge of new ballparks and/or new ownership. Las Vegas looms, as Washington, D.C., once did, as a potential relocation bonanza.

Of course, when Selig volunteers, "There are situations at both ends that need to be looked at," be isn't just talking about the low-revenue dregs.

He's talking about the big, bad Yankees.

The awful, terrible Yankees are expected to contribute nearly $100 million in luxury tax and revenue-sharing payments in 2005, making them the gift that keeps on giving to the sport.

The Yankees finally reached their financial limit this offseason, choosing lefthander Randy Johnson over center fielder Carlos Beltran rather than simply swallowing both. Their limit remains far above the next-highest club's. But the way the tax works, the more they spend, the more they pay.

Of course, the Yankees always find new ways to make money, too. Their latest plan is to build a new ballpark, the cost of which they could deduct from their local revenues, according to MLB rules. Thus, they would save some ungodly amount in revenue sharing, then increase their annual ballpark revenues by another ungodly number. If you're wondering whether the '06 labor negotiations will amount to another round of "How to Stop the Yankees," the answer probably is yes.

Then again, the Yankees last won the World Series in 2000. Owner George Steinbrenner, the driving force behind their insatiable financial machine, is 74. And at some point, the team's win-now fervor--as illustrated by the choice of Johnson, 41, over Beltran, 27--could lead to some type of crash.

A salary cap never is going to happen, nor should it, given the health of the industry. But MLB can keep tweaking. A minimum payroll would force owners of teams such as the Pirates and Royals to either spend or sell. A competitive-balance draft--redistributing players on the 40-man major league rosters--could help. So could an overhaul of the amateur draft.

"I'm satisfied we've changed the economic landscape of the sport for the better," Selig says. "Is it enough? That's hard to tell right now."

It's not enough, but it's a start.

speed reads

Sorry, but it's difficult to get excited about the White Sox's transformation into a National League-style club when they play in the best home run park in the A.L. The Sox are going to struggle to score runs without slugging outfielders Carlos Lee and Magglio Ordonez. They'll be looking for power by midseason.

Is there any team unluckier than the Pirates? The only way they can revive is if their young pitchers develop into quality starters, but two of their best will be out in 2005. Lefthander Sean Burnett had ligament transplant surgery on his elbow last September, and righthander John Van Benschoten recently underwent shoulder surgery.

INSIDE DISH

It pays to be the last free agent standing: OF Jeromy Burnitz has emerged as a hot commodity even though his on-base/slugging percentage was 1.057 at Coors Field last season and .775 on the road. Burnitz, who will turn 36 on April 15, stands to benefit from the Cubs' trading OF Sammy Sosa and agent Scott Boras' initial asking price for free-agent OF Magglio Ordonez--a minimum of five years and $75 million. The Cubs, Pirates and Diamondbacks all are interested in Burnitz, who declined his end of a $3 million mutual option with the Rockies. > The Tigers' plan, if they sign Ordonez, is to play him in right field and alternate Rondell White and Craig Monroe in left. Both White and Monroe are righthanded hitters who punish lefthanded pitching, though Monroe was less proficient against lefthanders last season than in the past. Monroe also can play center. > The Brewers' trade for LF Carlos Lee looks like a winner for the club, even if it cost them a valued reliever, RHP Luis Vizcaino. Lee, 28, is three months younger than OF Scott Podsednik, the other player who went to the White Sox. Brady Clark, the Brewers' new center fielder, ranked 13th in the National League with a .415 on-base percentage after the All-Star break. His .385 OBP for the season was 72 points higher than Podsednik's, though Clark had nearly 300 fewer plate appearances. > By improving the Indians' versatility, general manager Mark Shapiro is taking a page from his good friend, New England Patriots V.R of player personnel Scott Pioli. IF Alex Cora will combine with 2B Ronnie Belliard and SS Jhonny Peralta or Brandon Phillips to give the Indians three solid players at two middle-infield positions. IF/OF Jose Hernandez, meanwhile, can play seven positions, offering protection if Peralta or Phillips falters, if 3B Aaron Boone needs rest coming off knee surgery or if manager Eric Wedge wants to sit 1B Ben Broussard against certain lefthanders. > RHP Albie Lopez hasn't pitched since the Royals released him in June 2003, but the Pirates are hoping he can be another Salomon Torres, who revived his career with Pittsburgh after spending time away from the game. Lopez, 33, appears in excellent shape after losing more than 30 pounds. > Trading RHP Danny Haron to the A's leaves RHP Anthony Reyes as the No. 1 pitching prospect in the Cardinals' system. Reyes' performance at Class AA--6-2 with a 2.91 ERA, 102 strikeouts and 13 walks in 74 1/3 innings--in 2004 was nearly as impressive as Haren's breakthrough at the same level in 2003.

The Cardinals' decision to give free agent SS David Eckstein a Three-year, $10:25 million contract was a head-scratcher. considering Eckstein almost certainly would have accepted a one-year deal. The club, however, reasoned that it wouldn't want to go to arbitration with Eckstein before the 2006 season and wanted to keep him from becoming a free agent after '06.

The Mariners would love to bring back Mets CF Mike Cameron, but Seattle can't afford him. The addition of Cameron would enable the team to play Jeremy Reed in left and Raul Ibanez at DH, with Randy Winn becoming a fourth outfielder if he isn't traded. Cameron, however, is coming off wrist surgery and will make $6 million in each of the next two seasons.

Now that Delgado has been hooked ...

Three things to know about Carlos Delgado joining the Marlins:

* The Mets' failure to sign Delgado, a left-handed hitter, will be exacerbated by the matchup problems he will create for them in the late innings of games against the Marlins. Felix Heredia is the only left-handed reliever with major league experience on the Mets' 40-man roster--and he had a 6.28 ERA for the Yankees last season.

* Delgado's Florida-based agent, David Sloane, took some predictable hits from the New York media, but he must be doing something right. Delgado's two most recent contracts will pay him $120 million from 2001 through 2008. Both deals were struck with low-revenue clubs at a time when the market was surging.

* Don't expect Delgado to collect the MVP votes and postseason awards necessary to trigger his fifth-year option for $16 million. He has been in the top 10 in MVP voting only twice in his career, finishing fourth in 2000 and second in '03, and he never has played in the postseason.

kenrosenthal@sportingnews.com

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